Bharat Rakshak

"We have always been and will always be together. No politician can disrupt our relations," he said at a meeting with Collective Security Treaty Organization chief Nikolai Bordyuzha.

Belarus will forever remain "a reliable base and outpost" for Russia and the post-Soviet security bloc, he said.

Austin wrote:Lukashenko is a funny guy just last week he blamed moscow for high handedness and said he wont be cowed down and even blamed moscow for the embassy attack now he says this

Nothing can hurt Belarus-Russia relations - Lukashenko

"We have always been and will always be together. No politician can disrupt our relations," he said at a meeting with Collective Security Treaty Organization chief Nikolai Bordyuzha.

Belarus will forever remain "a reliable base and outpost" for Russia and the post-Soviet security bloc, he said.

At present, Russia has only one weather satellite, the Meteor-M type, in orbit and mostly uses meteorological data from U.S. and European weather agencies.

"The work on rebuilding the national space-based weather monitoring network is a priority task because Russia is lagging behind the developed countries in this area, which makes it difficult to ensure a fair exchange of meteorological data [between Russia and foreign countries]," the statement said.

According to Russian experts, at least six Meteor-type satellites will be necessary to provide sufficient data for independent weather forecasting.

In addition, Russia is planning to launch a separate satellite network to monitor climatic changes and survey energy resources in the Arctic region.

The Arktika (Arctic) satellite grouping, which is worth around 70 billion rubles ($2.5 billion), will comprise at least two sun-synchronous orbit satellites and two high-elliptic orbit satellites.

"The future decisions on the development of the national space-based weather monitoring network will be made in line with the prospects and achievements in the technology of monitoring devices, in satellite engineering and in communications," the government said.

"The completion of the static tests program is an important landmark in the implementation of the SSJ 100 certification program," Sukhoi CEO Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk said.

"Besides the static tests, we have also completed a flight program to confirm [the aircraft's] strength characteristics," he said.

The SSJ100 is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

Sukhoi has so far sealed deals on the delivery of 122 SSJ 100s.

"It is the 2007 contract. The issue of selling the missiles to Syria was raised during the talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates... Undoubtedly, it [the contract] would be fulfilled by the Russian side," the Russian minister said.

Israeli media said in late August that the country was working to thwart Syria's plans to get the highly accurate missiles, which Israel considers a threat to its navy vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko dismissed the media reports.

Russia to overhaul Bulava production if tests fail again - Serdyukov

Russia will have to overhaul the whole production and manufacturing system of its troubled Bulava ballistic missile if this autumn's tests fail again, the defense minister said on Friday.

Anatoly Serdyukov said that if failures continue and their causes prove to be different, "then we will have to overhaul the whole system of production and [manufacture] control of these missiles."

The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 12 tests.

"The next three launches of the Bulava missile will be held until the first ice appears. We will definitely launch [the missiles]," Serdyukov said.

"The principal disagreement is that they [the U.S.] tell us: "our missile defense program is not aimed against you," while we say: "no, according to our calculations it actually is," the minister said during his visit to the U.S.

He said the Russian side proposed the U.S. to jointly evaluate present missile threats.

"Let's analyze them together and find out where they come from. After that we will be able to decide on how to counteract these threats and is it really necessary to deploy missile defense elements in the regions where [the deployment] is currently planned. Maybe, some other locations are possible," Serdyukov said.

India surpassed China in 2007 with purchases of Russian arms worth $1.5 billion. In 2008, Algeria pulled ahead of India. But in 2009, New Delhi regained the lead, importing Russian arms worth $1.78 billion, twice as much as China's $848 million, according to the Center for Analysis of International Arms Trade, a local think tank.

For the nearest four years - from 2010 to 2013 - India will remain the biggest client, accounting for 54.4 percent, or $15.16 billion, of the Russian foreign defense orders portfolio for this period, according to the center. Vietnam's orders for this period come second in size, reaching $3 billion.

"Ratification should occur by the end of the year," Gen. Nikolai Makarov said. "There are no stumbling blocks now."

Russia: Update. Russia agreed to purchase four French Mistral-class helicopter carriers in a deal worth an estimated 600 million euros ($788 million) that will be officially signed later in September, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. Two of the four ships will be bought from the French manufacturer and two will be built in Russian shipyards, according to the statement.

ramana wrote:Isnt that a bargain at ~ 150M Euros? How capable are those ships?

The Mistral class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 armored vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 personnel.

There is no proof that Iran is working toward the creation of nuclear weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

However in order for UN sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic to be lifted, Iran must prove its nuclear program has a 100% peaceful character, Lavrov told the U.S. PBS TV channel.

Any attack on Iran would have “negative” consequences for the region, he warned.

The intelligence found out some very interesting facts about Mr. Vagabov, who was self-renamed and crazy-islamic-jihadists-blessed as Amir Abdullah. Mr. Amir Abdullah received his college education in Karachi, and proceeded to training in terrorists camps in Pakistan. When a Jordanian Doctor Muhammad was killed in 2009, Amir Abdullah married the widow, former Mrs. Muhammad. Upon becoming Mrs. Abdullah, the lady provided access to infinite Jordanian money, and then--in search of a better afterlife--blew herself up at one of the subway stops in Moscow.

Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma has this week met with his Russian counterpart Viktor Khristenko. Sharma "is satisfied with the bilateral discussion of possible rough diamond supplies to India under long-term agreements and the opening of an ALROSA office in India," the ministry says.

A source close to the negotiations said the Indian initiative had to be discussed with ALROSA first.

"India doesn't want to buy diamonds on a tender basis, but wants to sign long-term intergovernmental diamond supply contracts with Russia, while the Russian side said that ALROSA is a large company, so the issue should be first of all discussed with the company itself," the source told RIA Novosti.

According to Indian statistics, excluding arms deals, in 2009-2010 financial years, Indian-Russian trade amounted to $4.54 billion, while the goal is to reach $20 billion by 2015.

President Dmitry Medvedev has set Russia's security agencies the task of creating a reliable modern system for confidential mobile communications, the secretary of the Russian Security Council said Friday.

"We will work on this, and I hope such communications will appear soon: we have already done some groundwork," Nikolai Patrushev told journalists after a Security Council meeting.

Patrushev explained that he meant mobile phones on which confidential conversations could be held from any point on the Earth.

"And the talk cannot be intercepted," said Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who delivered a report at the meeting.

Patrushev said currently available systems are too bulky.

Giving a new dimension to defence ties, Russia signed a pact with India early september to jointly produce and design multi-purpose transport aircraft. It’s a flying machine that will stretch limits of aeronautical engineering. With a payload capacity of 20 tons and speed of 810 km per hour, the multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) is set to be another milestone in decades-old India-Russia defence relationship that is evolving from a buyer-seller to co-developers of cutting-edge military equipments.

The project has been on the drawing board for quite some time, but it took wings early September when India and Russia inked an agreement to form a $600 million joint enterprise for designing and producing MTA. This plane will first appear in the Air Forces of India and Russia.

The aircraft, which may serve various functions, including that of a fairly economical civilian cargo plane, will be developed by a joint Indo-Russian team of engineers. The first flight of the aircraft is expected to take place within six years. The shareholders' agreement for setting up the joint enterprise include: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) with 50 per cent ownership; the Russian concern OAK-Transportnye Samolety with 25 per cent; and Rosoboroneksport with 25 per cent. The joint enterprise, to be called MTA Limited, will be registered in India within the next two months. A branch of MTA Limited will be registered in Russia. On the Russian side, the airplane’s de- sign will be managed by specialists from Ilyushin, maker of one of the 20th century’s best transport planes, the Il-76.

According to The Voice of Russia radio, the aircraft would be developed at Aviastar-SP plant based in Ulyanovsk city on Volga. The Indian Air Force is expected to order at least 35 and Russian Air Force as many as 100 medium lift transport aircrafts. MTA can be used to transport army sub-units to evacuate the wounded, including civilians, in case of a natural disaster, and to transport military technology and cargos stowed in special containers. Going by the record of multi- faceted Russian military- technical cooperation, the ambitious MTA project is set to be a success.

Austin wrote:^^^ Even if they achieve those trade target by 2015 it is quite pathetically low any reason way Indo-Russia trade are so low in numbers ?

RajeshA wrote:

Austin wrote:^^^ Even if they achieve those trade target by 2015 it is quite pathetically low any reason way Indo-Russia trade are so low in numbers ?

Because there is no direct gas pipeline between Russia and India, which should be changed.

"The government will spend 22.5 trillion ($725 billion) rubles in the state's arms program in the next ten years. It's an unprecedented sum in our recent history," Ivanov said.

The bulk of the money -- $600 billion -- will be spent on buying arms and military hardware for the Defense Ministry.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has also called for improving the country's weaponry.

"The lack behind the industrially developed nations' in labor efficiency, industrial engineering and quality control backfires on our military and technical cooperation. We have to take action," Medvedev said.

"For two decades we have purchased and built nothing for our armed forces. This money is the minimum required to mount to meet the needs of Russian military," military expert Viktor Litovkin told Press TV correspondent.

The debt will rise to 13.6% of GDP by the end of 2011, 15.7% by the end of 2012, and 17.4% by the end of 2013, according to the Finance Ministry.

The leading world economies' debts will continue to mount, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, citing figures for the United States, where government debt will rise to 97% of GDP. Other nations' debt figures include the UK with 84.8%, France with 88.6%, and Germany with 79.6%.

Philip wrote:In case China develos carriers,Russia must provide India with Oscar class SSGNs,naval TU-22M3 Backfires,and even Kirov class nuclear powered type 1144 battlecruisers.

Austin wrote:Russian government debt to stay under 20% of GDP says Putin

The debt will rise to 13.6% of GDP by the end of 2011, 15.7% by the end of 2012, and 17.4% by the end of 2013, according to the Finance Ministry.

The leading world economies' debts will continue to mount, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, citing figures for the United States, where government debt will rise to 97% of GDP. Other nations' debt figures include the UK with 84.8%, France with 88.6%, and Germany with 79.6%.

Can some one tell me how does US and Western Economy float with such high public debt ?